


Love is the Essence of Life

by orphan_account



Category: Lost Girl
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Lesbian Character, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-25
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-06-10 15:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6963100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment." Doctor Lauren is a brilliant and devoted trauma surgeon working in the city of Boston who has no time for love. Until one day a BPD detective comes into her emergency room changing her life forever. Lesbian relationship</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**_"A loving heart was better and stronger than wisdom"_ **

 

            I remember the first time that I read those words when I read them in high school. I never truly understand what the author was talking about. Before I met her I thought that love made people weak and do stupid things.  I never understood the true wisdom behind these words. I had always believed that nothing was stronger than knowledge it had been something that I had strived for my entire life, it consumed me. I had never felt true love in my life. That true love, that love that makes you forgot about all of your other burdens and problems because you are in love.

            I did not come from the most loving of households when I was growing up so I never really understand the power of love. I had closed myself off from love at an early age in order to pursue my dreams; I thought that you had to choose between your dreams and love. I would never believe it would take just one girl break through my defenses and teach me how to love; how powerless we are in the face of true love.

            As I jogged down the streets of Boston on a cold fall day I could see my breath rising. I did the same run every morning, without fail, it was somewhat freeing making the run around Beacon Hill. There was something peaceful about the city before most of the city woke up, even in a city of more than half a million people it seemed peaceful and I could be alone with her thoughts.

            Every morning she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. There was the occasional person and from time to time she had run into trouble with the people of the common. As I made my way up the down Bowdoin Street I stopped at Capitol Coffee. I had been coming her since I had first moved to the city.

            "Hey Mario, can I get a…"

            But, before I could even finish my sentence he set down a hot tea on the counter. "You know I could set my watch by your run. Every day you walk through that door. Which makes me wonder what do you do when we happened to be closed?"

            I smiled and said, "Well, I go down the street and grab a tea from Starbucks. What is the difference right?"

            The Old Italian man let out a deep booming laughed, grabbed his chest, and said, "Oww, blondie that hurts."

            I smiled wider, the old man knew I was joking; he was right I had been coming to this coffee shop ever since I moved to my current apartment five years ago.  He was one of the few people that I actually talked to outside of work; normally I was a very private person but there was something about this man that made me open up to him. He reminded me a lot of my grandfather before he passed away, and there was no pressure with this relationship, he had no hidden agenda or anything; he just sat behind his counter and listened to me talk about life.

            I remembered the first day that I walked in to the shop, I was having a rough day and there was Mario with a huge smile, a large tea, and all of the time in the world to listen to me.  He just sat down next to me and listened to me for hours; even though I was sure that he had better things to be doing then talking to a stranger about her life.  And ever since then he had been there to talk to me whenever I needed it, he was like a therapist, or at least a bartender

            "So, anything exciting happen at the hospital recently?" asked Mario.

            "Actually it has been pretty slow lately, which I am glad for it gives me more time to focus on my research."

            Mario gave her an appraising look before saying, "Lauren if you don't like working in the hospital why don't you change jobs, my cousin works for a biotech company in Cambridge I am sure that you could go work for a company like that."

            I smiled and said, "There is a great deal of satisfaction that I get from helping others, and working as a surgeon is one of the best ways that I can help people. If I wasn't a surgeon I wouldn't have been able to help you, and then where would I get my tea from?"

            Mario laughed, "Well from what you told me from a Starbucks down the road."

            I laughed, smiled and said, "You know that there has not been a day in the past two years that you have not been open. You are even open during blizzards."

            "Well, someone has to give you your caffeine, but I am not going to be here forever. So, much as I enjoy seeing you in my shop every day I would like it if some day you didn't come into my shop."

            I looked at him, I had to admit that hurt a little bit.  What did he mean? He must have noticed the look on my face because he quickly continued.

            "You know Lauren, one day you are going to find someone who is going to make you want to sleep in, and not be out here running the common with all of the drug addicts and homeless people. Someone who makes you forget that you are addicted to caffeine because they give you that same rush.'

            The smile instantly fell from my face and I took the cup and said, "You know that is never going to happen Mario; so I guess that you will be seeing me until you retire."

            I turned around and pushed open the door as Mario called after me, "I don't buy that for one second Lauren, everyone has someone out there and you will find yours one day; whether you believe it or not."

            I just shook my head and walked the rest of the way home. Mario really had a way of digging down, I know that he only wanted me to happy and that he looked at me like his own daughter but he still got to me sometimes. I was perfectly happy with my life the way it is now, my work keeps me satisfy.

            As I got lost in my thoughts I didn't even realize that I had made it back to my apartment. I pulled my keys out my pocket, grabbed the paper off the front step, and opened the front door. As I stepped into the house I flipped on the light. My apartment is a sparse place; the only thing I used it for was a place to sleep at night. Some people might think that it lacks the feel of a true home back I liked it.

            I kicked off my running shoes off and set them on the shoe rack by the door. I grabbed the paper and opened it as I walked through the house to my study. There had been another murder, one of the star witnesses in the case against one of the local gang leaders had turned up dead in the Fenway area, shot in the back of his head.

            I closed the paper and threw it in the trash, there was never any good news in the paper these days. I walked through the living room to the bathroom, took off my clothes and turned on the shower. I stepped into the hot shower, it was so soothing on a crisp fall day, after a good run. I felt refreshed and energized when I stepped out of the shower twenty minutes later I felt amazing.

            I walked into my bedroom with nothing but a towel on and flipped on the radio. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a pair of light blue scrubs. With the soft classical music playing in the backroom I got dressed in my scrubs. My parents had always wanted me to go into politics or become a lawyer but there was something from a young age that drew me to medicine.

            After eating a bowl of cereal while reading one of my medical textbooks I looked down at my watch and realized that I need to get going or I would be late for my shift. I rushed out my front door and onto the now busy street. I slipped on my sunglasses and my sweater, even though it was a sunny day there was bit of a fall nip in the air.

            As I walked the same route I always did through the back streets of Beacon Hill I saw the old blue bloods, and young professionals coming out of their apartments in a hurry eager to start the day. I could see why people wanted to live there, it was a beautiful section of Boston. I truly loved living in Boston, it had an old soul. Even though it was an American city it had more of the feel of an older European city. The way the streets twisted and turned around the old houses made it feel different from most of the other cities in America.

            It was a nice easy walk from my apartment to the hospital. The walk to the hospital only takes about a 15 minutes at most from my apartment which is another reason why I loved living where I did. As I walked down the back side of Beacon Hill I saw the hospital looming in the distance, it was still early in the morning and the complex stood out on the Horizon.

            Massachusetts General Hospital, my home for the next twelve hours, I was a cardiac surgeon. I split my time between Mass General Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. After I had graduated from Harvard Medical School I decided to stay local.  I mean why not, right?  I loved the city and it had many of the best hospitals in the world; so ended up doing my residency at Mass General and then doing some work at Boston Children's.  I shocked everyone in my class when I decided to focus on trauma surgery and pediatrics; when I was at Mass General I usually worked in the Emergency Department as I had no desire to have my own practice; most of my classmates had their own practices or where partners in practices but I decided that wasn’t for me.

            Today was the last of my week in the Emergency Department, I usually worked four 12 hour days. While most doctors I work with did not like to work this shift I actually enjoy it, it lets me help the people who need it most. As I entered the front doors of the hospital I walked through the crowded lobby to the nurse's station. I waved to Carole, the head nurse; she was a very kind, older women and said, "I am going to drop this stuff in the locker room and I will be right back out."

            "Sounds good Doc, it has been a quite morning so far, but who knows how long that is going to last. Hopefully people won't be doing anything stupid today, but I wouldn’t stake any money on that."

            I smiled, Carole had been in the medical field for a long time, so she developed a brash attitude however she still cared more than most people about the patients that she was in charge of. I could only hope that I could be like her when I had thirty years in the medical profession.

            I walked into the locker room and dropped off my bag in my locker, put on my sneakers and tied my hair up into a high ponytail. Then, I walked back out into the waiting area and to the nurses station, just as I was about to say something to Carole when I saw that she had gotten a call.

            When she hung up the phone she said, "Well, my kid just got into trouble at school again. I don't know what I am going to do with that boy."

            I smiled and said, "That is why I don't have kids they are too much trouble."

            She looked at me and said, "I don't know, he might a pain sometimes but I would not trade having him for anything; it is my family which makes working here bearable now. I was like you once, so into my job I only wanted to help people and did not like about my own happiness. I promise you that you will meet someone nice, funny, and kind. When you do I hope that you will grab that opportunity with both hands and not let it go."

            "You sound like a mother Carole."

            "That is because I am Doc.  And I think of all of you doctors as my children, take you for example Doc you have been working here for the past several years and I have never once seen you go out with someone or do anything outside of the hospital. I worry about you."

            I smiled, I knew that she just wanted what was best for me. "Thanks Carole, but really I am fine. Do we have any patients?"

            She went through the papers and charts, "Yeah, we have a couple of broken bones, some minor cuts that need stitches nothing major."

            "Okay, give me the first one and let's get started."

            She handed me a chart, and I walked out to the waiting room. I pushed the doors open and said, "Robert?"

            The next several hours dragged on, Carole was right it was a pretty slow day. But, little did I know that was all about to change; and both my day and my life was about to thrown into chaos. I had just finished up setting the broken arm of a college student who had broken it skateboarding.

            I walked back to the nurse's station and handed Carole the boy's chart. "I can't believe that boy got into MIT he is such an idiot."

            Carole just laughed, "Well, do you think we should let them know that one of their students broke their arm because they thought that they could defy gravity?"

            I laughed, "No, but…

            I was not even able to finish my sentence before I heard an ambulance pull in and the doors to the emergency room burst open; several EMTs where pushing two stretchers.  One with a young girl and one with a woman that had to be about thirty years old.  “We have two gunshot victims, one is losing a lot of blood.” Little did I know at the time, this would be the moment that changed the course of my life forever.


	2. Chapter 2

Carole and I ran over to the stretcher. "What happened," I asked in my most professional tone.

            One of the EMT's looked at me and said, "We have two gunshot victims, first a 28 year old female police officer, two gunshot wounds to the abdomen. The second a five year old with minor concussion and a gunshot wound on the arm. Looks to be the second bullet from the first."

            The woman was yelling, "Sera, Sera, can someone tell me if Sera is okay."

            I first moved over to the child first, the wound did not look that bad, it was going to leave a mark but it didn't look like the bullet hit any major arteries or would cause any permanent damage, she would be fine with some stitches and a cat scan to make sure no brain damage was caused by the concussion.

            The girl was crying, "It hurts, it really hurts."

            It broke my heart to see the girl crying; I could only imagine what she was going through; no five year old should have to deal with this. "You must be Sera, my name is Dr. LaLiberte I am going to take care of you. You just stay strong and stay with me. So, are you in kindergarten or first grade?"

            "First grade," Sera rasped out. "Am I going to be okay?"

            "You are going to be fine. This is Carole she is going to take good care of you while I check on the police officer okay."

            I turned to Carole and said, "The child is stable, get her to one of the exam rooms so that one of the other doctors can take a look at her. I would give her something to relax her if I was you.

            Carole nodded and said, "Sera, it is going to be okay. I have something that will make you feel better."

            As they disappeared down the hall I went back over to the other stretcher. I returned to the woman, she was covered in blood and was losing more by the second. One of the EMTs had bound her wound and that was probably the only reason that she was still alive at this moment; the wound looked to be a clean but I would not be able to tell anything until I got her on the operating table. 

I turned to one of the other nurses and said, “Let them know that we are going need an operating table.”

The nurse nodded and went on a head of us. 

I went back to examining the woman; as I did I said, "Can you hear me? Ma’am, I'm Dr. LaLiberte. I'm the trauma surgeon on duty, what is your name?”

“Bo.”

“It is nice to meet you Bo.”

“Nice to meet you too Dr. LaLiberte through I wish it was under better circumstances.  How does it look down there?”

You only have one exit wound which means that one of the bullets is still lodged inside, you are losing a lot of blood."

            Bo looked up to me and said, "Is she safe?"

            I nodded and said, "Yes, the wound is not that bad she will be as good as new in a little bit. Probably will only leave a small scar."

            Bo smiled, "That is great to hear. Is it me or is it cold?”

‘Damn,” I thought to myself she must be going into shock.

“Well, I cannot say I ever saw this coming.  I never thought it was going to end this way, three tours of duty and I am going to die a mile from my house. Well, I wonder if it is heaven or hell for me. In the end it doesn't matter as long as she is safe."

            That simple statement crushed me, Bo didn't think that she was going to make it. "You are not dying today Bo, not if I can help it, you are going to live a good long life but I need you to stay with me."

            Bo barely nodded before she slipped off.

            "B.P. 180 over 100. Pulse is 50. She is going into shock."

            "I turned to the nurse who was standing next to me and said, "I am going to need a couple of pints of blood it is bad. The bullet must have hit something."

            The nurse nodded, and we pushed through the doors and headed to the operating room.  When we arrived there were already several nurses, the anastealogist in the operating room. We wheeled the stretcher over to the operating table, and I reached under Bo and grabbed the sheet.

            The operating was buzzing around me, but I tried to tune them all out. "On my count. One. Two. Three! I need a scissors.”  One of the nurses handed me a pair of scissors and I cut the shirt and the bandages off her body while they began to put her under for the surgery.  Almost immediately blood started to pour from the wound.  “Forceps.”  The nurses handed me one of the forceps and I opened up the wound so that I could find the blood vessel that had been hit and clamp it shut until we could sew up the wound; and the bullet so that we could remove it.  Then, the nurse handed me the camera so that I could go in and find the bullet before going in the wound.

            After several hours of surgery I emerged from the operating room. It was a difficult surgery, not the most difficult that I had ever done. She had been shot in the abdomen, but she had lost a lot of blood. It also took me longer then usually to find the bullet, which prevented me for sewing up the wound and stop the bleeding.

            Bo was lucky not even an inch to the left and the bullet wound have hit her abdominal aorta, and she would have bled out almost instantly on the spot. As it stood, she would most likely be back on her feet in the few days’ time and she would be fully functional again in no time at all.

I walked down the locker room and tossed my dirty scrubs into the basket, grabbed a towel and walked into the shower.  As the water started to pour down my face I thought about what I had seen when I was in the operating room.  I found it interesting that you could learn about someone when you had them in surgery.  For instance Bo had been wounded before, and she was treated in the field.  She had a scar on her shoulder and the technique that was used was one that was commonly used by battlefield medics, it was not as pretty as what might be done in a hospital but it was effective. 

After I got out of the shower, dried off, and pulled on a new pair I decided that I should go and see the other patient, the little girl who had come in with Bo.  Her wounds were not nearly as bad as the officer's and they were not life threatening but I still want to see how she was doing. She had been so scared when she came in and spending the past few hours in the hospital surrounded by people who she didn’t know. 

I walked out to the nurse's station in the emergency room to see Carole sitting behind the counter working on some charts, eating what was probably her supper.  "Hey Carole, how is the girl doing who came in with gunshot victim?"

            Carole looked up from her paper and said, "She is doing well Doc, she is recovering in one of the rooms on the second floor. The hit to the head was pretty serious, and she is still sleeping; the doctor wants to keep her here until they can find her next of kin."

            "No one has been in to see her? No parents?"

            Carole shook her head, "No, we can't find anyone. She says that she doesn't have any parents and just keeps asking about the officer that she came in with."

            "Have we contacted the Boston PD regarding the officer?"

            Carole nodded and rifled through some of the papers on her desk. "Yeah, we sent a picture over to the Boston Police Department and they identified her as Detective Isabel McCorrigan from the third precinct over in Southie. Rough area right now with everything that has been going on."

            I nodded, "Has anyone been in to ask about her?"

            "No, but I did talk to her captain who said that she had the day off today. He does not know anything about why they would have been shot. For those answers you are going to have to work until either the detective or the girl wakes up. I am sure you will be able to get all of the answers from them."

            "Okay, great Carole thank you very much and please let me know if either of them wakes up, I have some work to do before they do. If anything else happens let me know, you know where to find me."

            Carole nodded, "Sounds good Doc it has been a quiet morning other than those two, if anyone else comes in I will let you know."

            I turned back and headed to my office. I knew it was not my place to care, but I really wanted to who was this officer and little girl, and why had they been shot. Were they merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was there something more to this; there was something about this that just didn't add up. My inquisitive brain was going a mile a minute I needed something to distract me until one of the patients woke up.

            As I sat down at my desk I looked at the papers and books that were scattered all over the room. As I settled at the desk to do some paperwork I turned on my computer. I grabbed some of the patient's charts that I had neglected because of the surgery and started to finish them up.

            After finishing up my charts I pulled up some of my research on the computer, Mario was right my first passion had always been researching. Right now I was looking at ways to reduce the recovery time from open heart surgery. As I started to pour over my notes and add some new data from my most recent surgeries, and there recovery.

            Just then there was a knock at my door, “Come in.”

The door opened and a young nurse walked in and said, "Dr. Lewis, you wanted to know when the young girl woke up."

            My head shot up from my computer, and I snapped out of my paperwork induced haze and said, "Yes, is she awake."

            The nurse nodded and I grabbed my lab coat off of the back of my chair and ran out the door, almost knocking over the nurse. "Sorry, and thank you very much I appreciate it."

            As I entered the intensive care unit I saw several of the nurses crowded around the bed taking readings off the machine and updating his chart. But, as I approached they looked up and handed me her chart.

            "Dr. Lewis the readings all seem normal but all she has said is to ask for someone named Bo over and over again. I am worried that there might be permanent brain damage due to some complication from the medication."

            I looked over the chart, all of her readings seemed normal. There didn't seem to be any permanent damage, the nurse was probably just over reacting. "Bo, is the name of the officer who came in with her.  But, don’t I will talk to her, why don't you go get me some new bandages."

            The nurse nodded, and walked out of the room, I cautiously walked over to the bed and sat down in one of the chairs. The little girl looked at me, and I could see that there was fear in her eyes, "Bo, I need to see Bo."

            I put my hand over hers and said, "It is okay, sweetie; she is fine but she is resting right now.  I promise you that as soon as she wakes up I will take you to see her." I smiled trying to calm down the girl.

            "Are you an angel?"

            "No, I am just a doctor, not an angel. Can you tell me how you are feeling?"

            The girl looked me in the eyes and said, "My arm really hurts, but if you are looking over me then I know that I will get better. Momma always said that I had a guardian angel who is always watching over me, she must have meant you."

            I smiled, there would be no convincing her that I was just a normal human, kids at her age had such an imagination. "Your mother sounds like a very smart women I would love to meet her. Do you know her phone number?"

            In an instant the bright smiled that had been plastered on the girl's face vanished, "She died last year along with my Dad. Big sister Bo told me that they were both heroes and have gone to live with Nana and Papa."

            "Oh, so you live with your older sister Bo?"

            The child's smile was back. "No silly, Bo is not my real big sister she is like you. She watches over me, she knew my father, she worked with him before he left."

            "Oh, so Bo takes care of you, and what did your father do with Bo?"

            The girl looked back at me, and said, "My daddy was a policeman." And with that simple statement it all clicked into place, Bo was not just a cop who had protected this girl from a gunshot, she was the guardian of the girl.  That would also explain why no one checked in on the girl or the officer. If they were supposed to be together then they would probably not be missed for a little while.

            "Was Bo with you this morning? Do you remember what happened?"

            The instant I asked the question I felt guilty, I should not be pushing this girl to remember these events, not yet anyways.  But, the little girl stared at me for a moment and I thought that maybe she had forgotten what had happened to her; the human brain has the remarkable ability to forget in order to protect itself from trauma.

            "It is not her fault, she was taking me to the park to feed the ducks. As we got to the park out of nowhere I heard these popping noises and big sis pushed me down and I felt like got a really bad bee sting on my arm. Then, I don't remember anything except for the blood from big sis, and you telling that you would help me. Is Bo here, I would really like to see her?"

            I looked down at her, now with some of the gaps filled in it made a bit more sense. "I am sorry, she is still asleep right now, but how about I get on of the nurses to bring in some movies for you to watch. How does that sound?"

            The girl smiled and said, "Yay, do you have any superhero movies? That is what me and Bo watch together."

            "Of course," I said rubbing her head. "Marvel or DC?"

            The girl thought for a fraction of a second before saying, "Marvel."

            "Ah, a girl after my own heart, I think that I might be able to find one of the Captain America movies if you want." She looked at me bright eyed, and nodded her head. I laughed and said, "Okay I will go get one of the nurses. I will check in on you later."

            As I stood up, the little girl reached out and grabbed onto my lab coat and said, "Can you stay here with me? I don't want to be alone."

            I looked at the girl, she looked so scared. I couldn't even imagine what was going through her mind. It must have been a very tough day for her. I looked up at the clock and saw that my shift was going to end in a couple of minutes. So, I nodded and said, "Sure, I will stay with you. I love Captain America. Let me just go get the nurse so they can get us that movie."

            The girl smiled, and let go of my coat. As I walked out of the room I almost bumped into the nurse bringing the new and bandages. "I will take those, and do you think that you could go grab the copy of the Captain America movie in my desk can you bring it here?"

            The nurse nodded, and headed off again. I went back into the room and said, "The nurse is going to get it, now before we get to have fun it is time to change your bandages."

            The girl made a face, I smiled and said, "I know that it is not fun but it needs to be done. I promise that I will be quick."

            As I got to work the girl said, "Thank you angel. You are just like Bo, you are really nice. I think that you two would get along really well."

            "I am sure that we would, you will have to introduce me when she wakes up."

            The girl nodded and as I finished up changing her bandages the nurse walked back in with the DVD. I took it from the nurse, thanked her, and informed her that I was off but that I would be staying here with Sera. Then, I put in the DVD and sat back down in the chair.

            "Can you sit with me?"

            I looked up at her, and seeing the look on her face I just couldn't say no. "Sure."

            As I climbed into the bed with her, she moved closer to me and rested her head on my chest. And for just a moment I realized what Carole was telling me earlier; there was something comforting and smoothing about being with this child right now; even though my shift had ended I was in no rush to get back to my apartment. As the movie started I looked down at her and for the first time since she came through the doors of the hospital the child looked at ease.

            About twenty minutes into the movie Sera fell asleep in my arms. As I stared down into her sleeping face my mind started to wander. I curious to find out more about this girl and the mysterious Bo in the other room.

d out more about this girl and the mysterious Bo in the other room.


End file.
